This is missing the point completely. Stross doesn't claim amazon is a monopoly (well, other than in the title, but titles necessarily need to simplify to catch

This is missing the point completely. Stross doesn't claim amazon is a monopoly (well, other than in the title, but titles necessarily need to simplify to catch attention) - he calls them a monopsomy. Yes, you can if you really try grab the book from a different publisher and copy it to your kindle. 90% of readers won't bother though.